They often do even under "normal" circumstances in the United States (e.g., Americans overstate their church attendance).
Doug and Joel ought to remember that Iraq is *under foreign military occupation conducting counterinsurgency warfare* with censorship, checkpoints, house raids, arbitrary arrest and detention, no due process, etc. -- i.e. Iraqis do not have freedom of speech.
As Alex Gourevitch reminds the reader, "In June [2003], Bremer issued a nine-point list of 'prohibited activity' that included incitement to violence, support for the Baath Party, and publishing material that is patently false and calculated to promote opposition to the occupying authority" ("Exporting Censorship to Iraq," October 1, 2003, <http://www.prospect.org/print/V14/9/gourevitch-a.html>). The CPA have attacked critical journalists and closed down hostile publications in Iraq. It is ridiculous to imagine that Iraqis under such conditions can freely say to surveyors who may very well be informers that they oppose the occupying authority, much less support any resistance to it (talking to pollsters is even less safe than talking to journalists). Only the most daring or the most foolhardy would. -- Yoshie
* Bring Them Home Now! <http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/> * Calendars of Events in Columbus: <http://sif.org.ohio-state.edu/calendar.html>, <http://www.freepress.org/calendar.php>, & <http://www.cpanews.org/> * Student International Forum: <http://sif.org.ohio-state.edu/> * Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osudivest.org/> * Al-Awda-Ohio: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-Ohio> * Solidarity: <http://www.solidarity-us.org/>